Formed in 2012 as a busking collective, their latest full-length, House In The Tall Grass, highlights Kikagaku Moyo‘s audacious move into a pastoral and mediative realm. They are a band to experience, not simply hear. With Kikagaku Moyo representing true psychedelia, they will move the freeform into new territories, inspiring their San Diego counterparts along the way at Roadburn 2018 on both Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21 (the East Meets West-jam).

The Japanese Psych Experience:
In conjunction with the San Diego Takeover, Roadburn 2018 will also host the Japanese psych experience! Steeped in ’60s and ’70s tradition, these bands free mind and body in loose and freewheeling fashion, like the Nippon-based psychedelic pioneers of yore.

Building bridges between German krautrock and classic Indian raga, or traditional folk, motorik grooves and seemingly endless jams, this burgeoning scene is relatively small in their native country, but their freeform presence is strongly felt throughout Europe, and all the way up to California, leading to a global cult-following.

We’re not talking about exotic outsiders here, or a bunch of Japanese longhairs simply rocking out, and trying to emulate their peers from the US. These bands are exploring psychedelia in a transportive and meditative way. Emphasis is put on the past, but they’re pushing the envelope, and it’s their forward-looking vision that’s prompted us to bring them to Roadburn 2018.

Centered around cult-labelGuruGuruBrain, the following bands will perform as the Japanese counterparts of the San Diego Takeover:

To make sure that you’ll witness these psych/folk pilgrims at their experimental best — alone, or in case of Minami Deutsch, also with one of Japan‘s most-revered musical progenitors, Damo Suzuki (of Can)– we have asked these bands to collaborate with their San Diego cohorts.

Spearheaded by Earthless, the resulting the East Meets West-jam will take place Saturday, April 21. It will be extremely exciting to see how both scenes will bring their improv-psychedelia together, as improvisation is a key element to all, but from completely different perspectives.

Please brace yourself to explore the sonic spectrum with these new champions of Japanese psych!

The San Diego Takeover and The Japanese Psych Experience are supported by Brabant C and Performing Arts Fund NL.